Larry's Lunchette

Einstein spoke of his “humble admiration for the infinitely superior spirit that reveals itself in the knowable world”; that’s the relationship I have with the wild woodland opposite my cottage – an evolved ecosystem of great ‘intelligence’. Dead plant life feeds the soil – which feeds new growth – which feeds animal life…seasonal cycles of air, water, heat, light…I sometimes glimpse the ‘harmony’ of it all. Rather than get ‘in a mood’ about the weather – it’s easier to surrender to the stream of life.

The garden this year saw exceptional numbers of beautiful goldfinches (Nyjer seed) but one night’s frost saw them off; the internet says goldfinches migrate to southern Spain – which was also my winter migration; content now to stay put – await their spring return. On Sunday, in soft autumn sunlight, I pruned the shrubs – planted six big pots of spring bulbs. Young Hemingway again: “But you knew there would always be spring – that the river would flow again after it was frozen – and when the spring came there were no problems except where to be happiest”.

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Tom Paine’s ‘Rights of Man’ famously asserted that there is ‘a mass of sense’ in the general public; we’ll learn on 12^th Dec who they ‘blame’ for this ‘failed’ Parliament. It is likely the election will be dominated by the Brexit question, leave or remain; an unfortunate distraction from the more important opportunity – to shift UK politics compassionately to the left. There is too much poverty in our country – a shameful gap between rich and poor citizens; this inequality is not inevitable but the intentional choice of governments. We need to replenish the safety-net of public services which the Tories hold in contempt.

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Since reading his book Stone Voices (2002), I’ve been a fan of Neal Ascherson’s political punditry; I enjoyed his Observer piece this week, about our closest neighbour’s the English – the gulf between London and the rest – and what three years of Brexit wrangling may be doing to the Union of our countries.

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Scotland’s mainstream media, right-wing and unionist, totally blanked the RIC conference in Glasgow last weekend; the exception was the Scotsman’s Lesley Riddoch – ‘writer in residence’ for initiatives that are small, local, emergent, alternative.  ‘All Under One Banner’ is not the SNP, but their impressive levels of street activism (also media blanked) has persuaded Nicola Sturgeon to attend their rally this weekend.

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Though I won’t be alive – I’m fascinated by imagining a post-capitalist society – which Paul Mason does in this Social Europe article.  Some of his ‘economics’ is incomprehensible to me – but the key ideas emerge: capitalism without carbon – an economy without compulsory work – universal basic services.

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Facebook recently decided to let politicians post any claims they wanted – even false ones – in ads on the site. This New York Times piece is about a letter some employees have written to Zuckerberg protesting this policy as ‘a threat to what Facebook stands for’; Twitter has decided to ban all political ads.

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From the letters of George Eliot (1819-1880).

“Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love – that makes life and nature harmonise. The birds are consulting about their migrations, the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay, and begin to strew the ground, that one’s very footsteps may not disturb the repose of earth and air, while they give us a scent that is a perfect anodyne to the restless spirit. Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.”